Prince vs Warner Brothers
Prince Vs. Warner Brothers: Artist feud with Label
Ryan Willis
Negotiation and Deal Making
Christi Davis
March 27, 2011
In today society different companies go through various contracts on a day to day basis; however, it is solely up to both companies or parties to ensure that the contract upon entering is in good standing and there after remains in good binding, As in the case of Prince Vs Warner Brothers. In the beginning it seems as though the contract was acceptable for both parties, however as the discrepancies unfold, it became clear that the contract was no longer valid. This created a huge problem for both parties. It has been observed that the dispute between Prince and Warner Brothers was about money and how often albums can be released. Prince felt that the record label had too much control over his creativity. According to BET, The contract between Warner Brothers and Prince stated that Prince would receive a 10 million dollar advance with each album, however Warner Brothers reserve the right to pick which albums were released and on what time frame (BET). According to Orwall (1995), “In a nutshell: Prince has been frustrated that the company won't release his records more regularly. He produces the equivalent of three or four albums a year; the record company would rather have just one and milk it” (orwall, 1995). As a method of retaliation, Prince took action by legally changing his name to the symbol 0{+>; as such, the legally given name prince remained under the control of Warner Brothers, therefore he was branded as the artist formally known as prince. After changing his name, the artist formally known as Prince released the most beautiful girl in the world on his own record label called NPG Records, therefore ignoring his contract with Warner Brothers. The feud continued as Prince publicly defied the contract between him and Warner Brothers. As a result Warner Brothers then took legal action by taking prince to court and forcing him
Ryan Willis
Negotiation and Deal Making
Christi Davis
March 27, 2011
In today society different companies go through various contracts on a day to day basis; however, it is solely up to both companies or parties to ensure that the contract upon entering is in good standing and there after remains in good binding, As in the case of Prince Vs Warner Brothers. In the beginning it seems as though the contract was acceptable for both parties, however as the discrepancies unfold, it became clear that the contract was no longer valid. This created a huge problem for both parties. It has been observed that the dispute between Prince and Warner Brothers was about money and how often albums can be released. Prince felt that the record label had too much control over his creativity. According to BET, The contract between Warner Brothers and Prince stated that Prince would receive a 10 million dollar advance with each album, however Warner Brothers reserve the right to pick which albums were released and on what time frame (BET). According to Orwall (1995), “In a nutshell: Prince has been frustrated that the company won't release his records more regularly. He produces the equivalent of three or four albums a year; the record company would rather have just one and milk it” (orwall, 1995). As a method of retaliation, Prince took action by legally changing his name to the symbol 0{+>; as such, the legally given name prince remained under the control of Warner Brothers, therefore he was branded as the artist formally known as prince. After changing his name, the artist formally known as Prince released the most beautiful girl in the world on his own record label called NPG Records, therefore ignoring his contract with Warner Brothers. The feud continued as Prince publicly defied the contract between him and Warner Brothers. As a result Warner Brothers then took legal action by taking prince to court and forcing him
References: BET, (n.d.). Media beefs. prince vs. warner brothers [Web]. Available from http://www.bet.com/video/beef/season1/video-214273.html iconic, (n.d.). Prince on record labels [Web]. Available from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itsRvRvfG4Y Levine, J. (1996). Prince speaks. Retrieved from http://princetext.tripod.com/i_emancipation96.html Orwall, B. (1995, January 15). Purple drain. Retrieved from http://princetext.tripod.com/n_1995.html Prince ends contract with warner bros. records. (1996, february 5). Retrieved from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1355/is_n12_v89/ai_17921009/ Prince. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.warr.org/prince.html